Sanaek !gwSNAAKE5k 2009/07/29 (Wed) 07:58 No. 91914 "Seems we all have our problems, then. Don't pay me any mind, I'm just here to meet somebody."
"Hmmph.." Reimu grunts, expressing an emotion somewhere along the lines of disinterest and frustration and making it abundantly clear that she's trying in all her power to ignore you. She turns to walk away. "Do what you will, but try to stay out of my way. I've had it up to here with upstarts like you running around they own the place."
...
"I could blast her, if ya want." Chiyuri whispers to you with a grin a mile wide. She probably thinks it's amusing.
You ignore the both of them, pulling Chiyuri by the collar as you make a round of the outside of the building. You let her go after a few feet, just long enough to get the point across that you'd prefer it if she would just shut the hell up.
"Hmm..." Your round complete, you think next to head inside. The grounds are deserted save the two of you. And one angry shrine maiden, of course. You last see Reimu headed for the woods behind the shrine.
You kick off your shoes and head in through the back door. A dark-haired woman in blue greets you from a nearby table on the floor.
"Heya." She says, waving and smiling--the friendly sort of greeting you'd more hoped to have received from Reimu. "Looks like Reimu gave you the cold shoulder, too."
"Are you...?" You wonder if this is the one you're supposed to be meeting.
"Am I... what?" It wouldn't seem that way, judging by her reaction after having seen you. The woman motions for you to take a seat. "Sit down, will you? You standing there like a stick in the mud is really starting to get on my nerves. C'mon, c'mon! I'm not gonna kill you."
Might as well.. You sit across from her, letting Chiyuri squeeze in next to you. The woman in blue offers you a drink--some kind of tea, by the looks of it. It's bitter.
"So I take it you're here for the party?" She asks, never showing you anything but a smile. "Maaan, Reimu really knows how to pick 'em." She pauses for a moment, refilling your cup despite you not really wanting a second. "So if you don't mind me asking, what's with the cape?"
"She probably thinks it makes her look like a superhe--" Chiyuri speaks up, but is quickly silenced by the power of your fist.
"Er, was that really..." The woman points to Chiyuri, now nursing a brand new lump on her head.
Dammit, that hurt!" She protests.
"You'll live." You say with a smile, avoiding saying more than absolutely necessary. You look back across the table, "But capes really are cool, aren't they?"
"Agreed, one-hundred percent." The woman laughs. "It's only a shame mine was torn to shreds after that little Makai incident." She reaches her hand out, suddenly. "I'm Mima, by the way."
"Yumemi Okazaki. This is my assistant, Chi--" You take her hand, but recoil slightly when you feel how cold it is--like shaking the hand of a corpse.
"I get that a lot." She laughs it off.
"I.. suppose I've encountered stranger things in this world."
"It only gets stranger, I tell you." She smiles, pouring you and Chiyuri a third cup. "This one time about two years back, some folks from the outside had this little battle royale outside of some ruins, and.. Wait." She leans over the table, narrowing her eyes.
"Hah!" She sits back, laughing. "Now I remember you!"
You sit silently and nod.
"You were a lot more mouthy back then, so I didn't quite recognize you at first. So you're still here, huh? So I take it you still haven't discovered the secret of magic?" Even after remembering who you are, her demeanor hasn't seemed to have changed at all.
"I wish I could say that I have, but no."
She leans forward again, intently. "You.. Think you could do that thing with the night again?"
"That sort of thing puts an unnecessary strain on the machines, so no. I'm afraid I can't."
"Damn shame, that. Never could find a proper magic that could freeze the night like that."
"Hey, uh.." Chiyuri pokes your shoulder. "Sorry to butt in, but weren't we looking for someone?"
"Hmm?" Chiyuri seems to have caught Mima's attention. "Looking for someone, you say?"
"Yes, I am." You nod, "At first I though it was you, but I'm sure that isn't the case now." You get up to leave, are about to excuse yourself, when Mima grabs you by the hand.
"Hey, where are you going?" She grins, trying to pull you back into your seat. "I didn't say you could leave?"
"I'd rather not miss my meeting." You say, trying not to let her intimidate you back down. Her cold hand on your wrist only seems to be growing colder..
"Alright, alright." She lets you go. "But at least let me come with. The boredom is killing me~!"
You first look to Chiyuri, who doesn't seem to object in any way, shape, or form.
"If you really want to.." You see no problem with her accompanying you for a ways. She's shown you nothing but kindness so far, and her motives only seem to be purely to stay entertained. "I doubt there'll be much interesting about it, though."
"Hmph! You'd be surprised." She stands, eyeballing you haughtily. A smile indicates that this all may be little more than a jest. "If you don't make the best of things your life will be miserable! Take it from somebody who's already dead."
"Already..." Chiyuri's eyes widen slightly. "Dead?"
"It's a joke, it's a joke!" Mima laughs as Chiyuri grabs onto your arm. "Try not to take me too seriously, okay?"
"But you're not really joking, are you?" You say, watching Mima as she tries her best to keep Chiyuri from freaking out.
"Well, saying that something is 'dead' would indicate that it was alive in the first place." Mima smiles, still trying to draw Chiyuri out from under your cape. "C'mon, I won't bite~ I have no such recollection of being alive in the first place, so it's hard to say. I'm not gonna hurt you, honest~ For the time being, it's better if you think of me as just a spirit, or preferably the God of Hakurei." She seems to go back and forth from talking to you to talking to Chiyuri, and you find it a bit difficult to tell who exactly she's addressing.
"That's a bit of a jump, from spirit to God. Don't you think?" Chiyuri eventually steps out, but keeps her meek demeanor, shrinking back ever so often when her eyes meet Mima's.
"You'd think that, huh?" Mima's grin widens. "She have a problem with ghosts or something?"
"G-g-g-ghosts?" Chiyuri stutters, but tries not to look intimidated. "Of course not! Why would I ever be scared of something silly like ghosts?"
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